1 Corinthians 15:20–28; the Last Sunday of the Church Year; November 23, 2014;

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church; Creston & Mount Ayr;

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

There it is. All laid out right in front of you. Christianity in a nutshell. Jesus Christ risen from the dead. In fact, back just a few verses before this text you find out how critical the issue of Jesus’ resurrection is. Listen to what it says:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:17–19, ESV)

So that says, no resurrection of Jesus, no resurrection of you and me, no Christianity.

Do you realize what this actually means? If there is proof that Jesus is still in his grave, then we are all wasting our time this morning. All of Christianity hangs in the balance. It’s actually in the Creed (http://catechism.cph.org/en/creed.html). It’s all stated as fact, at a particular time. Some folks have said that the most important words of the Apostles’ Creed are “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Pilate was a real person in real history. Jesus was a real person in real history who actually suffered crucifixion under a real Roman government in a real place at a real time. And, more importantly, rose from the dead in a real place and time. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilate_Stone) Now, you might not think this is important, but St. Paul says differently. Other religions are based in unverifiable or mythological events, or even founded on people that can’t be shown to have even existed. Our faith isn’t like that. Christianity is uniquely historic. It claims to be just that. And in fact in many places in the New Testament, the writers encourage people to check that what is claimed about Jesus is what actually happened. (Acts 26:26, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11) Everything that we believe about Jesus is verified to be true because Jesus rose from the dead. It isn’t even an arguable point. If Jesus is alive, what he says is true. It is Jesus himself that hangs his whole reputation on his resurrection. (See Matthew 13:38-42, Matthew 17:22-23, Matthew 27:62-63, Mark 8:31, Luke 11:29-32, John 2:13-22) When the Jews asked for a sign that he was who he said he was, Jesus says to wait for his resurrection. After all, who are you going to believe? Centuries of scholars who are dead in their grave, or the one who came out of his grave alive again?

So the question is: How do we know Jesus is risen? God doesn’t leave that to chance. He doesn’t put the answer in your heart so you can feel that it’s true. That’s what the other false religions do (i.e. Mormons and their “burning in the bosom” to verify that the Book of Mormon is true, http://carm.org/are-you-mormon). He gives you something objective, outside of yourself, to rely on. It’s written down in a historically reliable text. Of course, I’m talking about the Bible. We in the faith believe that it is God’s Word and therefore perfectly reliable. But did you know that the New Testament in particular is the most historically verifiable document from the ancient world. There are more copies and fragments of the New Testament than any other documents in ancient history. Everything we know about Ancient Greece, Rome, Homer, Aristotle, Plato, and the Trojan horse, all of it is based on very much less historical record than what happened to Jesus Christ and his followers. (http://carm.org/manuscript-evidence) If you deny the accuracy of the New Testament then you have to deny everything we know about the ancient world. The copies were made closer to the originals in time, and there are more of them than any other. For example: We have only 600 ancient copies of Homer’s Iliad written down many centuries after the events and the copies many centuries after that. We have over 20 thousand copies of the New Testament, from copies made within 100 years of the originals that were written within 30 years of the events.

So the documents are accurate, but does that mean that the writers are telling the truth. The writers claim to be witnesses or close associates of witnesses of Jesus life, death and resurrection. But maybe they made it all up. Well if they did, they are going against Jesus clear teaching that lying is a sin (John 8:44). It is also important to note that the Gospel accounts of Jesus life are not identical. They are from 4 different points of view. Any judge will tell you that identical testimony points to lying, it’s call collusion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collusion). Also, the disciples don’t tell a very flattering account of themselves. People don’t usually lie to make themselves look foolish. And there are a great many external non-Christian sources that verify the events written in the Gospels. Archeology it the friend of the testimony of the writers. Over and over again the details in the New Testament have been verified by archeological finds. And another thing; the documents were circulating within the lifetime of other witnesses, both hostile and friendly. There is no record of hostile witnesses denying what was written. They had motive, means and opportunity. The Jewish religious community could have spoken out against what was written if it was a lie. But they didn’t.

Now look at where we are. Faith is not required to see that the disciples recorded what Jesus said and did. Faith is required to see that what Jesus said and did is for me. But we can see that what was written is an accurate record of Jesus life and words. So what about what he did and said? He says that his is God. In fact, he is God in human flesh. He says that he has come to bring forgiveness to the world, and to restore a perfect creation. But anyone can claim to be God. Usually we lock people up who do that. The author C.S. Lewis said that Jesus’ claim makes him a lunatic, a liar, or God (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6979-i-am-trying-here-to-prevent-anyone-saying-the-really C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1952). So, what makes Jesus claim different? Once again it is the resurrection. Jesus basis all that he say on his resurrection, he predicted it and pointed to it as proof. He was crucified, dead and buried. The disciples recorded in gory detail what happened to Jesus on the cross. The events leading up to his death, are in fact, the bulk of the discussion of the Gospels. And they were public, “Not done in a corner.” According to the writer of Acts (Acts 26:26). The disciples on the Emmaus road were surprised that anyone wouldn’t have heard of what happened to Jesus. There can be no doubt that he died on the cross and was buried in the tomb. And then, the writers describe seeing him alive again. If you are dead at point A and alive at point B, then what you have is a resurrection. One of the first Creeds of the church was "Χριστός ἀνέστη!" Christ is risen! "Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!" He is risen, indeed! It wasn’t wishful thinking, or some made up hope. It was based on eyewitness testimony. When the disciples were writing the Gospels, people who saw Jesus alive after his resurrection were still around. And the disciples encouraged investigation. The grave is empty. The enemies of the church only had to produce a body to disprove everything that was written. No body was produce even though many people had good reason to discredit the disciples.

All this is to say what St. Paul says.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20, ESV)

Jesus is exactly who he says he is. He didn’t do some pointless miracle to prove it, he rose from the dead. It is, in fact, the most important miracle that could ever be done. Death is in your sight. It doesn’t matter if it happens by accident, disease, or old age. It is the most real and basic problem with your life. You are facing death. God says, it is sin. You sin, so you will die. And not only death but eternal punishment in hell. So serious is sin that God cannot tolerate any of it in his presence.

But Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. He was dead on the cross, then he rose from death. He says that his death is the total payment for your sin. And he promises resurrection for you. Someday soon, Jesus will appear again. And he has promised on that day he will destroy death. Actually, he’s already done it. He died and rose from the dead. In that truth he promises to do the same for you. He is the only one in all of history who can say it and mean it. It is what our faith is about. And it is founded on Jesus. His life, death and resurrection. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.